A new exhibit titled “Optidelical” to open at The Chambers Project

The Chambers Project’s new exhibit Optidelical exhibits new work by contemporary psychedelic artists, firmly placing them into the mind-bending story of optical art – these are bright paintings and drawings that juggle illusion and sensory play, and seduce viewers like delicious treats asking to be eaten. 

The history of Op-Art is important to curator Brian Chambers, who explains, “It arrived right at the same time as psychedelics,” but he is most interested in how it has evolved in the present. Early Op-Art paintings made by Victor Vasarely and Bridget Riley in the 1950s and 60s were designed using surprising flat patterns of two-dimensional shapes, using geometry and color clashes to create images that seemed to vibrate, shimmer, and move. Since then, a new generation of artists inspired by those pioneering images have morphed new op-art into sensual three-dimensional forms that seem to wiggle away from the constraints of their predecessors. 

This is not the Op-Art of the past. Chambers continues, “My first foray into new Op-art was when Mars-1 created his ‘Infinite Tapestry,’ in 2010 – that had a very strong impact on me, and that image has become synonymous with my brand and style.” A complex composition of soft concavity and convexity, it set Chambers’ interest in motion. Intrigued, Chambers wanted to shape an exhibit revealing the bright and dramatic evolution he had noticed as painters expanded the boundaries of optical illusion and advanced into unknown territory. Chambers said, “Op-Art has become even more complex. The art of the past was basic, but it has evolved in a more abstract way, and the technical abilities of the artists are unique. I haven’t seen other galleries doing an Op show for a very long time. I think it will get a great response. Optical illusions tie in well with the psychedelic aesthetic, so it’s cohesive with my practice in curation.” New creative dialogues between the artists are building the history of the work. Oliver Vernon’s ‘Billow’ is a swelling feast of monochrome forms, a delectable development of Mars-1’s painting. In it, lava eruptions of molten material retain their patterns, punctuated by occasional hard-edged reminders that these strange forms are not natural, that these are the products of imagination, that this is an exercise in voluptuous and sensory pleasure. 

“Finding the paintings has been a great exercise,” says Chambers, “and it’s been an exciting way to encourage artists to do something I think they’re really good at. Oliver Vernon’s piece is mind-blowing, Damon Soule’s is amazing, everybody is creating top-tier, mind-bending material. Mear-One has never done an Op piece before, and he’s coming up with something especially exciting. I’m also working with some new artists who I’m excited to bring into the fold.” Among them is Candace Thatcher, whose bright sculpture is a shimmering and chromatic topography of swoops and valleys rendered in rainbow colors, breaking away from the sharp and angle edged customs of early Op-Art into an organic morphology of softness and reflection. Jen Stark’s dramatic crater painting is an alien’s map painted in either the pop and clash of street graffiti color, or the hues of comic book graphics. It is an entry point, and a gateway to another dimension. Maximino Rezza’s mandala, the contemporary descendent of Huichol peyote thread paintings from Northern Mexico, is a reminder of the parallel paths taken by new American Op-Art and the native tradition of journeying to other realities using art as an intermediary in a sacramental and visionary context. In Rezza’s work the traditions meet and synthesize, birthing a new form that combines the best of both worlds.

At the afterparty following the opening reception at a local venue, Mear-One and Colin Prahl will paint a live collaborative image – this is a psychedelic spectacle worth watching as illusory images emerge from the clever brushes of these highly skilled painters.

“The show will definitely make your eyes wobble!” said Chambers, with a friendly chuckle.

Featured artists:

Vibrata Chromodoris, Ricardo Chavarria, Oliver Vernon, Melanie Farris, Mear One, Maximino Rezza, Mars-1, Mark Dean Veca, Kelsey Brookes, Justin Lovato, Jen Stark, Darel Carey, Damon Soule, Colin Prahl, Candace Thatcher, and Blake Foster.

April 19th Bicycle Day Afterparty at “The Bodhi Hive”

Following the exhibition opening there will be a Bicycle Day Party celebrating the first intentional LSD trip experienced by Albert Hoffman in 1943. Music will be provided by DJ Qbert, The Gaslamp Killer, Goopsteppa, Maria Tambien, and ETHNO (Jeff Franca of Thievery Corporation). Elixart will be on hand providing a full bar, and Mapu Empanadas will serve delicious food.